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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418918">Fish Out Of Water</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyCatMeow/pseuds/CrazyCatMeow'>CrazyCatMeow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Meteor Effect [26]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hermitcraft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Fluff, Fish, Gen, Guardians - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Pufferfish, Spikes, Spines, Vex - Freeform, Watchers, Xb does not have fun, bean bag, conduit, fins, giant, meat favored omnivore, merman, sometimes he will, thorns</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:22:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,210</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418918</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyCatMeow/pseuds/CrazyCatMeow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Xb's pretty nervous about what the meteor is going to do to him, and rightfully so he's in for a nasty transformation.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>n/a</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Meteor Effect [26]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529078</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>143</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Fin's and Tails</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s been a few weeks since Etho was affected and Xb can’t let the lingering thought that he’s next to go. He knows that he’ll be ok regardless of what happens but the thought of something taking his body and changing it is absolutely terrifying.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he wanders around placing details in his town his communicator buzzes letting him know that his hunger was dropping. Pulling a golden carrot out he eats it. Nothing seems to happen, his hunger continues to drop.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Confused he eats another and another. Nothing happens. Now he’s starting to panic. Walking over to his food chest he pulls a golden apple out. Nothing happens to his hunger. Swallowing, he grabs a few different kinds of food and carefully eats while monitoring his hunger. No change.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, nothing changes. Nervously he swaps his communicator into chat mode and sends a private message to Doc, telling him that food isn't working right. A few minutes later the customary Meteor alert goes out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>DocM77: Xb, I'm coming over, if you feel like anything’s about to happen listen to what your body is telling you. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>xBcrafted: Will do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>DocM77: I’ll be there in an hour, hang on. If anything bad starts happening call X and have him teleport you.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dropping his communicator down to his side Xb frowns. He’d known that he probably was going to be affected this round but he didn't really </span>
</p><p>
  <span>expect it to start like this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His stomach grumbles, picking up a stack of fish Xb continues fleshing his bases details out. As he walks under the floating part an odd feeling washes over him. Something up there is calling to him. Listening to what Doc had said he starts heading up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he opens his elytra he clumsily lands on his base. He stumbles onto the glass floor. His elytra weren't acting right, it’s probably just on the way out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Legs shaking he tries to stand. A horrible sense of foreboding overwhelms him as he brushes his hair out of his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly he stands up and eats a few more fish before starting to look for why he was drawn up to the floor of his base. As he scans the area. He notices something off, crouching down he places his hand on the corner of a block he gasps sharply. His hand is growing bigger. After a panicked moment, he falls back in shock as his height doubles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Standing up he grips the wall before pulling his communicator out. Frowning he carefully pokes at the buttons until he opens a holographic keyboard. Increasing the size as much as possible he shakily sends Xisuma a message telling him that the transformation has started.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>DocM77: X DO NOT MOVE HIM</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Xisuma: what? why not?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>DocM77: what the meteor is doing is environmental, if you move him he could get seriously hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Xisuma: should I teleport to him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Docm77: I’ve got him, you get Biffa and check the meteor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biffa: make sure he’s ok…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>DocM77: I will</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Xb reads this a jolt of pure terror runs through him. What could possibly be happening that he needs to be in a shattered Savana? Or does it have something to do with his base?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Starting to nervously pace Xb inhales sharply. As he stands still for a moment he gasps in pain, falling to the glass floor, he kicks at the glass floor; it cracks. His legs are overcome with white-hot pain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the pain fades he looks down at his legs. Which were no longer there, having been replaced by a tail. It's twice as long as his torso and tapers down to a point.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looks at it for a moment before shuttering and looking away. There weren’t scales, or anything on it so it looks really weird.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he rolls onto his stomach the floor shatters plunging him down into the guardian tank. The cold water is a shock. He freezes as his guardians chitter and swim circles around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Using his arms to try and make his way to the surface, one of the guardians slams into his back. Not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to make him breathe out. Instinctively he gasps for air only to choke on the water</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A slight pain in his side draws his hands down. His fingers brush against soft slits in his skin that flutter softly as the water moves over them. Running a finger along one of the gills he shutters, that didn’t feel good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a start he realizes, he’s breathing underwater.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes are firmly squeezed shut, he doesn’t want to risk getting the salty water in them. As he floats he starts to realize that if he’s breathing fine he can probably open his eyes without much consequence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he opens his eyes to look around the salt doesn’t burn. Grinning he turns around. As he looks around a bit his eyes get fuzzy and pressure starts building in his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blinking rapidly, he looks around and tries to focus on one of the guardians. He can’t really look at it. As he squints towards it his vision seems to fizzle out around the edges. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blinking confused, everything goes black. A heart-stopping second later everything comes back. It’s different somehow, he can’t place a finger on it though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Raising a hand to touch his face he realizes what’s wrong. He’s only got one eye. Looking around he tries to find his communicator. It’s not in the tank.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s way out of reach, it’s all the way against the wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking down as something pinches his tail. Scales had started spreading covering the flesh. Light blueish-green scales cover most of his skin and he has orange ventral scales along his front. The orange scales stop about two-thirds of the way down tapering to a point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gently running his hand over them he cringes away from the rough texture. It’s like sandpaper but not quite the same. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he watches orange fins start to materialize. A pair one his sides just below his hips stretching down to about where his knees would have been. There’s another pair situated further back on his body, these ones are long and are slightly serrated. Along his spine, a long fin stretches from the tip of his tail all the way up to his neck. The end of his tail has a pair of caudal fins to propel him through the water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Running his hand along the long pelvic fins he jerks his hand away, which was a bit sharper than he had expected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he watches another pair of fins start growing on his arms. Once all the fins have finished growing he gingerly flicks his tail and swims around a little. It feels wrong, so he stops moving, only flicking his tail softly to stay upright. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cool water washes past his gills. As he lets out a breath he lets himself sink to the floor of the tank. He can't get to his communicator and he can't climb out, he’s stuck. As he sits against the wall he finds that his tail is really flexible and he’s able to sit normally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sharp pain in his mouth draws his attention. Raising his hand he finds his teeth have sharpened, kind of like shark teeth. Burying his head in his hands Xb curls further into himself. Hoping that Doc would arrive soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bringing his hand up to his mouth he carefully pokes at the sharpened teeth before closing his mouth and gently running a hand through his hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sharp prickly feeling meets his fingers as a bunch of small spiky horns grow. Each one only a couple of inches long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a slight grimace, Xb winces as more scales cover his shoulders. He’s starting to panic a bit as he can’t tell what’s happening anymore. His ears have started to feel numb as fins replace them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Watching in fascinated horror he stares mesmerized as his fingernails sharpen into claws. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few long minutes, Xb deems the transformation over, at least for now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking a moment to try and swim up to the surface of the water Xb realizes something, he wasn’t wearing his jacket when he grew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Softly he sinks back to the floor as he pulls at his shirt. An overwhelming sense of loneliness running through him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As if sensing his sadness the guardians swim over and rub up against him. Trying to comfort him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They let him pet their heads and nuzzle up to him before footsteps echo from above.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc spots him and paces nervously around the hole in the floor motioning for him to come up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Xb spots him he swims up to him. When he gets close to him a wave of nausea overtakes him. He’s so much bigger. Doc is absolutely tiny compared to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb reaches the surface of the water and pokes his head out resting it on his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” Doc murmurs, “I didn’t think he would go this fast.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is ok,” Xb murmurs, “Can you get me out?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you breathe normally? I can see your gills,” Doc asks as he carefully pulls Xb partway out of the water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think so,” Xb answers hesitantly, “and if not I can roll back in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Doc agrees and drags the much bigger merman out of the water and onto the floor. Tears well in his eye as Doc cups his face in his hands. Being very careful he hugs the creeper. Doc leans in and whispers, “It’s going to be ok.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb loses it and fully brakes down, his tail flopping uselessly on the ground. Doc pulls out of the hug, “I’m going to ask Xisuma to teleport you. Hypno has that squid tank.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to be stuck in the water,” Xb whimpers as Doc rubs his back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grabbing the sides of his head, Doc pulls him down a little, “I know, but you clearly need some sort of water.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blinking softly, Xb agrees, “You're probably right.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc gently rubs his back and pulls his communicator out, after a minute he gets an answer, “Ok, Xisuma is going to send Impulse over and have him make sure you’re ok before he teleports you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok,” Xb murmurs as he flicks his tail.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later Impulse appears, having been teleported by Xisuma. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Xb,” Impulse greats, smiling at Xb, “Can I take a look at your tail?” Xb nods, “Great, can you lay down on your stomach?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb complies and lays down stretching his tail out behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Impulse walks over to his tail and gently stretches his fins out making sure they don’t have any rips, “Xb, I’m going to push on your hips,” As he says this Impulse gently puts his hands next to Xb’s spinel fin and pushes down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb yelps as his spine pops, he lets his breath out and looks back at Impulse, “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, guardians have a pressure point where their tails start, it calms them down,” Impulse explains idly scratching at a patch of bedrock on his wrist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding Xb looks over to Doc, “Can someone hand me, my communicator? I want to see my face.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Xb sits up Impulse takes a look at his horns as Doc hands him his communicator. Xb’s face falters as he looks at himself. His one iris had turned bright red, he had scales around his face, his ear fins, and shark-like teeth all coming together to create a pretty scary sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you’ll be ok if we have Xisuma teleport you,” Impulse explains, as Xb flops back onto the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok,” Xb agrees. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Impulse walks over and hugs him, “You don’t need to force yourself right now. It’ll be easier in the long run.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reaching down Xb carefully picks Impulse up to properly hug him, they stay like that for a moment before Xb motions to Doc having him join in the hug. Grumbling Doc gives in and lets Xb hug him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Doc messages Xisuma to have Xb moved over to Hypno’s, Impulse puts his hand against Xb’s and they laugh a little bit when they notice his hand is half the size of Xb’s and fits perfectly into his palm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb looks over as he hears a vwop and locks eyes with Xisuma.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my goodness,” The Admin exclaims as he sees Xb, “How are you doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Swallowing Xb shrugs, “I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to move you now,” Xisuma gently explains.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hesitantly Xb nods and lets Xisuma start his magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll take me a moment to get Doc and Impulse there but Hypno and Biffa are already waiting for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that Xisuma sends Xb off to Hypno’s base.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a soft splash, Xb flops into the water. From somewhere off to the side Max screeches and flaps back over to Hypno.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey man,” Hypno greats.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Xb murmurs as he drags himself over to the glass wall and leans on it. Hypno quickly makes a platform so he and Biffa can easily talk to him. Xb blinks up at Hypno and freezes as Max walks up to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Biffa kneels down and gently pulls Xb’s head up to look at him, brushing his hair out of his face, “Hey, you’re going to be ok,” Biffa murmurs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stay like that for a few minutes. One of Hypno’s squids swims by and Xb flinches when it brushes past his tail. Turning to look at the squid Xb huddles against the wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ducking his head underwater he bears his teeth. As Max jumps up onto the wall Xb flicks his tail slightly and sits on the bottom of the tank. A few moments later Xisuma, Doc, and Impulse show up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb waves at them before returning to watching the squid. He carefully tracks the movement with his eye.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s been a lot to take in and with his family watching him he starts to calm down. Without the panic, he breathes out and slumps against the wall. As he falls asleep he looks up and curls into himself, happy that he doesn't need to worry about anything for a while.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Fishy Business</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb sighs as he flicks his tail. He’s been confined in Hypno’s squid tank for a few days now and it’s getting pretty cramped. Although he is set to move over to Xisuma’s abandoned combat arena sometime soon. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The hermits have been working together to make it a nicer place to live in for a while until they can come up with a solution. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They had put a roof in and placed a floor partway in the water so if he wants he can pull himself out of the water for a while.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Footsteps sound from nearby so Xb swims up to the surface to greet the person.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s Biffa, “Hey Xb, how’s it going today?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine, it's just I can’t move around in here,” Xb softly admits. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I think you’ll be happy to know you’ll be moved over to Xisuma’s today.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb smiles softly, “That’s good.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you move your fins for me?” Biffa asks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Laughing Xb complies and flicks his fins, “I’ve got that down.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That you do,” Biffa agrees. He sits on the edge of the tank and sits with him for a few more minutes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a while, Xisuma walks in his tail swishing, “I come with good news. We’re going to move you in a few minutes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb’s face breaks into a shark-toothed grin. As the others bustle around getting everything together. Xb is pulled out of the water and Impulse inspects his scales and fins one last time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few minutes, Xisuma takes his hand and they disappear to the jungle. They land with a soft splash on a shallow ledge. Xb chitters softly as he looks around.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The area looks nice and has lots of water plants. Flicking his tail in the water Xb talks with Xisuma as the others show up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, Xb can you roll into the big pool?” Xisuma asks as Xb slinks partway under the water.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He nods and rolls off the platform and grips the edge. He flicks his tail and gently ducks under the water.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he lets go he sinks under the water. It’s the first time he’s been fully submerged without any sort of panic or being squashed. It’s really nice actually. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing but the calm water encasing him. Xisuma nods and Xb lets go of the ledge. He flicks his tail experimentally and accidentally rolls over. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Squinting his eye he flicks his tail again with the same result. He stops and takes a moment to feel the water, “Right, fins,” He murmurs to himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This time when he flicks his tail he moves forwards. Grinning he swims forward. When he reaches the wall of the arena he tucks his fins in as he flicks his tail and turns. Deciding to try something a bit more intense he kicks hard as he swims back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’s fast, slowing down is a different problem entirely. Panickally he wriggles around and stops. As he comes to the surface he smiles up at the others who had gathered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Impulse is sitting on the ground a ways away from the edge of the water. The others are standing a bit closer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this good?” Xisuma asks, he’s sitting on the edge with his tail dipping into the water.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s awesome,” Xb says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Biffa grins as he sits next to the water, “You picked swimming up really fast.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nodding Xb puts his arms upon the ledge and sets his head on his arms. Hypno walks over and sits next to him. He gently pokes at his horns a bit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you doing?” Hypno asks gently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sighing Xb slumps over, “I don’t know, I just want to be normal again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hypno places his hand on Xb’s face and gives him a hug, “We’re all here for you if you need us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a sad smile, Xb leans on to his arms. The whole thing has been getting to his head and he’s been having a pretty hard time. The others try to help, but the size difference is a constant reminder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Doc had put a switch on the back of his communicator that would make a screen that fits his size. It was a kind gesture that Xb never even thought of. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xisuma’s voice draws him from his thoughts. He looks up and spots the admin looking at him with his deep green eyes, “Xb, you with us bud?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking his head Xb blinks at Xisuma, “Sorry, what did you say?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s ok, if you look over here we’ve made you a bedroom.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Swallowing hard, Xb looks up at Xisuma, his eye welling with tears, “Thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s alright,” He murmurs, he flicks his tail, shooing the others away. Biffa stays and kneels down next to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Biffa smiles and gently pats his shoulder, “There’s an opening over in the corner, can you swim over to the box over there?” He asks as he points to a large concrete box over in one corner of the arena. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb nods and swims up, when he emerges he’s in a tall room half-filled with water the half without water has different areas with different things. Places for the others to stand and furniture that’s been scaled up so he can use it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Underwater there’s a hammock that has a Collection of different large pillows and a huge bean bag. Letting himself sink into the bean bag, he wraps himself in the large blanket that was placed on the bag. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Looking at the walls Xb spots a small seam. The now apparent Redstone door opens up to reveal a glass wall that Xb can see Xisuma and Biffa through. From his bundle on the bean bag, he grins.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even though it’s still early in the day Xb yawns and nestles down into the bean bag. He hasn’t had a blanket or bed since this started so he quickly falls asleep. Completely snuggled down into the bean bag he smiles softly in his sleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s a bit weird waking up underwater. The glass wall was covered with concrete again.  Wiggling out from his blankets he swims up to the surface. When he reaches the surface he looks out the big window. It’s early in the morning. Poking his head out he spots something new in the room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s another bean bag?” Xb wonders as he looks over.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Xisuma thought you could use one up here as well,” Biffa explains. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb pulls himself partway out of the water and sits on the edge of the water, “I can hang out with you guys,” Xb chirps happily. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Biffa smiles,  “Do you want pancakes or waffles?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He hums for a moment before answering, “Waffles.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nodding Biffa turns away for a moment and starts making the waffles. After a while, the food is done and they eat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once Xb has dried off he pulls himself onto the bean bag. Since this one is dry Biffa walks over and sits down near him, they sit and talk for a few hours.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Xb swims back out to the main area he flicks his tail as he spots Keralis grinning down at him. As he swims up to the surface he smiles softly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Keralis gasps; it’s the first time he’d ever seen Xb since everything had happened, “Your scales are so pretty,” He gushes as his wings flare out a little. Since his eyes can see more details and the light seems to bounces off things differently for him so Xb’s tail glitters in the light.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb smiles a bit sheepishly and ducks back under the water for a moment, “Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Smiling Keralis buzzes and gently punches Xb’s shoulder. The small spikes on top of his head bristle slightly as some orange scales stand on end. Instinctively Xb puffs himself up slightly as Keralis jerks his hand away. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blinking Xb pokes at his arm a little, “Uhh, sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No no no,” Keralis says as he carefully pats Xb’s shoulder, “It’s not your fault.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m like a pufferfish,” Xb gasps as he realizes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Keralis nods, “If you think you’re in danger you puff up,” his eyes seem to brighten before he continues, “Your skin must be pretty stretchy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Laughing a little Xb agrees, he hadn’t puffed up very much. It was just enough to make him look bigger than he really is.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s pretty weird that you have a response like that,” Keralis hums.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Why?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a prey response,” Keralis explains, “Things normally only evolve like that when being actively hunted.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t we though?” Doc asks as he walks over, “The meteor is hunting us down, picking one of us off at a time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The spines that were slowly starting to deflate, puff back, “Was that really necessary?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Doc freezes, “Sorry about that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Xb squeaks, after a few minutes he deflates and lets Doc poke his skin. Which did actually stretch a lot more than normal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb slips back underwater and starts swimming around, he’d only swam around a little bit yesterday before he fell asleep. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Flicking his tail he swims towards the bottom of the tank, something’s glittering amongst the coral. It turns out to be a sea lantern. Fascinated he swims around it and gently touches it. It’s pleasantly warm, settling down on the sand Xb realize something. The ground is warm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment of pushing the sand around, he realizes why there is a layer of magma blocks hidden under the sand. That’s why the water isn’t too cold, Xb smiles to himself. He’s glad to have such good friends.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He lays down on the soft sand and looks around. Having the time to look at his surroundings he can fully appreciate the way the other made the arena for him. Currently, he’s in a small coral reef, and that transitions into a kelp forest with lots of tall plants. Glowstone, sea lanterns, and sea pickles had been scattered around. There’s an area with no plants that is surrounded by seagrass swaying softly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Seeing a flash of movement Xb snaps his head over. There’s fish in the tank. He flicks his tail as he swims after the brightly colored Tropical fish.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blowing a stream of bubbles out of his mouth he watches as the school of tropical fish swims around. It’s fun to watch and he settles on a stone outcropping and watches as they swim.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Every so often a fish will swim a little to close and he’ll swim after it. He realizes that it is a bit weird to chase the fish but, it’s also weird that he’s twice his normal size and half fish so it evens out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One fish; a cod, swims up to him. Xb stays perfectly still as it draws near. Once it’s in range he darts forwards and grabs the fish in his teeth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spluttering he spits the fish out and swims back to the surface.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Doc gently pats his head, “Don’t drop it next time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m more concerned with the fact that I just tried to eat a raw fish.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xisuma wanders over, he had finished some work around his base and was stopping by to hang out for a while, “That reminds me, how are you eating?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb shrugs, “I don’t know, it’s complicated. I can eat meat just fine but if I eat too much of anything else my stomach hurts.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean by, too much?” Doc asks as he motions for XB to swim into his room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once everyone has settled Xb sinks into his bean bag as Doc places a blanket over him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So uh, it only happens if I eat more than like a bowl worth of each non-meat thing,” Xb tries to explain, “I don’t really have measurements for anything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xisuma pulls his notebook out and starts scribbling notes down, “I might have an idea, you probably need a lot more protein, and since you don’t have many options for plants and other things you’re probably really good at processing that stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Doc nods, “That could be it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb groans and pushes his head down onto the bean bag. His tail flicks as he rolls over, “That’s just fantastic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Frowning, Xisuma walks over and hugs him, Doc joins a moment later. He does his best to hug him as well as possible with the size difference. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a while, Doc curls up next to Xb and falls asleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Smiling softly Xisuma explains, “You know he doesn’t sleep enough with the meteor active. His creeper side took over and well, He’s sleeping.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb smiles and fully lays down, Xisuma joins a moment later. Before long all three are asleep. They are awoken by the sounds of a camera clicking softly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xisuma and Doc are up in an instant, Doc hissing at the disturbance and Xisuma growling quietly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From the startle, Xb puffs himself up showing his spines. He looks up and finds a guilty-looking Jevin, Wels, and Biffa.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh hi,” Wels says as he waves.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry about that,” Jevin laughs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Biffa shakes his head, “You can puff up?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Xb laughs as he looks at his hands.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That is a hazard,” Doc desids, “Do you have a sponge?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do,” Xisuma says slowly, “Why would he need that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wels answers, “Most sea animals with spines are toxic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb once again buries himself in his blanket, “Wonderful.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The others smile softly and get a sponge. They cut it up into smaller bits. Xb lets them stick them on his spines. He’s kind of annoyed about the whole being affected thing and finding out that he probably has some sort of toxin, so his spikes refuse to deflate. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The others sit around him and talk to him. After a while, he’s calmed down and he starts to deflate. The others realize the sponges probably aren’t going to stay put a moment too late. The sponges shoot off in every direction. Most bouncing harmlessly off of whatever they hit. One smacks Jevin in the face and gets sucked into his slime. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He starts laughing as Wels pulls him over to a chair. Pulling his communicator out he sends a message in chat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>IJevin: "I've got a sponge stuck in my head</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>RenDog: Oh is that a song?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>IJevin: No literally, [Open Image]</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>RenDog: Rip dude.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The image shows Jevin’s head with a small bit of sponge stuck inside, Wels can be seen on the other side.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wels shoves his hand into Jevin’s head and with a squelching sound pulls the chunk of sponge out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Xb grins, “I didn’t think that would happen.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jevin waves him off, “It fine it happens.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They hang out for a bit, just talking and messing around. After a while, he’s left alone. It really doesn’t matter to Xb, he’s happy to have a little alone time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Looking at his face he frowns, he looks weird, he’s supposed to haw two eyes. The shark-like teeth and scales he doesn’t mind too much, they look pretty cool. The tail is pretty cool but it does make it impossible to move around on land.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A small chitter draws his attention over to a small form floating in the air, “Hey Scar.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Xb,” The vex waves, “Dang I feel tiny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, this is weird.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but your scales look amazing.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, this whole thing is messing with my head,” Xb admits.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I get it,” Scar murmurs as he lands on his shoulder, “We didn’t get lucky with the whole transformation part.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Xb looks down at his tail, “No we didn’t”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Scar takes a deep breath, “The Vex have an offer for you. They can give you the option of being in this form, or a human-sized one with legs. There will be side effects.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inhaling sharply Xb answers, “Maybe, what kind of side effects?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A different Vex pops into the visible spectrum, “Smart, I like you. The side effects will be, you’ll need more water, you will have to shift into your current form every so often, and a few other things.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Squinting at the Vex Xb asks, “Other things?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing bad we promise, we cant tell you everything. Also, we will have to do the spell after the meteor goes dormant, he has enough magic to undo our work.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you enjoyed please leave a coment.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. That Was Fintastic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Flicking his tail Xb rolls into the water. He’s waiting for Xisuma so they can discuss the changes happening so far. As he swims around he blows a small stream of bubbles out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking in Xisuma perches on the edge of the water, he leans over slightly and starts the conversation., “So, what’s happening instinct wise?” He asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bobbing underwater for a moment Xb leans against the floor, “Uh, hunting, I guess and I'm attracted to sea lanterns.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xisuma nods and gently splashes the water with his tail, “Um, how’s being in the water?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really mind it, at first it made me feel a little sick but I think that was the size of the area I had.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding Xisuma agrees, “Probably, is something else bothering you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Vex deal, they won’t say what they are going to do,” XB shrugs, “We can trust them, but it’s still really scary.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a soft smile, Xisuma flicks his tail and splashes Xb, “Whatever happens it’ll be better than what the meteor is doing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb smiles back, “You’re right, it can’t get much worse than this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xisuma sighs, as Xb flicks his tail up out of the water, he grins before splashing Xisuma. The admin jumps back and bristles his spines. Xb laughs as Xisuma splutters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Xisuma has the chance to do anything Xb ducks underwater and swims out to the main area.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xisuma rolls his eyes and walks over to the big platform. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc is sitting with his legs in the water as he explains something to Xb. He pulls himself onto land and gently kicks his tail.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The meteor is probably going to go dormant soon,” Doc explains, “and uh, Scar told me the Vex want you to know how to hunt before they start to change what happened.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wrinkling his nose Xb blinks down at Doc, “That’s a bit concerning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shrugging Doc nods, “The vex work in strange ways, it could be a warning or it could be out of interest or even just mild concern.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xisuma nods to himself before silently leaving the arena.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc pokes Xb a little so he flops back into the water, “Ok so, we both are ambush predators, when I hunt I crouch and stay like that until fish swims by. When you hunt you do the same thing and lay on a ledge until you find a fish.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Doc paces, Xb swims along. Not really minding the creeper’s way of explaining things. After a few minutes of instruction and explanations, Doc has Xb swim to the bottom of the arena and lay on a rock until the fish swim by.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s interesting, ever since he’s been transformed his energy was weird. Not like he has less energy or is overly tired, but he doesn’t feel the need to move around after sitting still for a long time. He hasn’t been able to decide if it’s a side effect of being twice his normal size and it’s just a way to conserve energy, or if it’s part of the transformation. Causing him to sit still and not move as much. Shaking his head he looks over at the school of fish that is circling closer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Biffa had managed to convince him that his newly acquired taste for raw fish is ok, it’s not going to hurt him. It had taken him quite a bit of time to convince him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fish swimming above his head circle around before floating down. Once in range Xb darts up and grabs one. Grinning he brings it back to the surface to show Doc.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good job,” Doc grins, “I should warn you, uh you’ve gotten really lucky so far. You probably won’t always catch your prey.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb nods, “Yeah, I didn’t think it would be that easy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you’ve gotten the basics down,” Doc smiles softly, “So, the meteor is going dormant again later today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb’s face noticeably brightens at that, “I will be glad this is over.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t blame you,” Doc murmurs, “The meteor has been pretty nasty to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking down at his body Xb laughs a little, his tale flops on the warm concrete, “One good thing has come from this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And what might that be?” Doc grins.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can give really good hugs now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc snorts, “You do give good hugs.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they talk a small flake of blue magic floats down and lands on Xb’s tale. A Vex pops into existence as Xb gasps, his spines puffing out slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh sorry about that,” The Vex giggles, “We didn’t want to startle you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's ok,” Xb waves his hand. As he deflates to normal size the Vex explains what’s happening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Since the meteor is just about dormant again his magic is pliable so it will be easily altered,” The Vex turns to Xb, “We don’t know where our magic will start working but you should return to a normal size soon,” With that, the Vex fizzles out of existence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shrugging Xb lays back down and lets Doc inspect his tail.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should try to figure out just how you propel yourself through the water,” Doc hums.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, what exactly do you mean by that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t really have knees, but you do have a more flexible part of your tail. Do you move more at the waist or at the flexible part of the tail?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It depends, normal swimming around I think I move more from the waist but if I need to do tight corners I’ll use the bottom half of my tail.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb sucks in a breath as his vision seems to waver, pressing his stomach against the concrete he clutches at his head. When Doc sees what’s happening he rushes over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Xb shrinks back to his usual size, tears form in his eye. Doc gently rubs his back before picking him up, bracing him against the wall, and carefully giving him some water after he’s back to his normal size.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Opening his eye Xb squints at Doc for a moment before trying to shuffle away. His spines fully puff up as he panics slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s ok, you shrunk back to your normal size,” Doc explains as Xb takes a deep breath to calm himself down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Motioning for Doc to head inside, he rolls off the side of the platform. Xb darts underwater and into his room. Shaking off the feeling that everything is suddenly huge he meets Doc by the bean bag.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc helps him out of the water and onto the bean bag. He frowns as Xb wraps the blanket around himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to have someone grab you a normal-sized shirt and some shorts?” Doc asks after Xb has completely burritoed himself in the blankets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That would be awesome,” His muffled voice calls back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc smiles at the little merman, before grabbing his communicator and shooting a message to Keralis asking if he could bring over some clothes that would actually fit Xb. He had been wearing a black swim top with a cut out along the sides to accommodate his gills. A few hours after his transformation a watcher had dropped it off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb feels the wave of pure exhaustion wash over him and allows himself to fall into the realms of sleep. When Doc walks back over he smiles softly before carefully moving Xb over into a proper bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few hours later Xb starts to wake up and yawns, he rolls deeper into his blanket before feeling something a bit off. One of his legs is bent. With a startled yelp he rolls off the bed and onto the floor as he tries to escape the blanket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Biffa had apparently replaced Doc at some point, and he rushes over to help. He helps pull Xb out of the blanket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once free, Xb winces at the cold floor, pulling a shirt on as he shivers slightly. Biffa tosses his hoodie over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Xb smiles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Doc doesn’t want you to walk around just yet,” Biffa says as he helps Xb back on his bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok, so we wait until he gets back?” Xb asks as he carefully bends his leg.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes, the creeper runs in and over to Xb where he looks at his legs, “We’re going to take this a little slow. Can you stand up for me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding Xb smiles then slowly stands up, his legs feel a little bit weird. Wobbling a bit he looks up, “So that went well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're standing weird,” Doc murmurs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Biffa sits on the floor, crossing his legs he leans over and gently pokes at Xb’s knee, “Your oddly tense, relax a bit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I feel like I’m going to fall if I do that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax just a little,” Doc instructs, “We’ll catch you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sighing, Xb relaxes a little, and his leg curves back a bit too far.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc frowns, “And that doesn’t hurt?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It feels fine,” Xb answers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His muscles have moved around a bit, probably so it’s easier to form the tail.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a moment of silence, Xb takes a small step, as he stumbles his way over to Doc he starts walking properly. Of course, he stumbles and falls a few times but such is life. He keeps going and a few minutes later is walking pretty well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sitting down at the table Xb looks at his legs and smiles. It had been a week since he had had legs. As he eats some food a prickly feeling washes over small parts of his legs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You ok?” Biffa calls over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m ok, I’ve just got some scales on my legs and… yeah, there’s some fins too. Like the ones on my arms.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he resumes eating something a bit odd catches his attention. A thin blueish membrane is forming between his fingers. The color matches his scales. Flexing his fingers Xb shrugs, it doesn’t feel like it’s restricting his motion at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Biffa, it looks like I’ve got webbed fingers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking over the cyborg takes a look at the webbing, “Well, that’s interesting, it looks like it’s making it so you can swim well in or out of the water.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding Xb grabs a water bottle as Doc walks in with Xisuma in tow; apparently, EvilXisuma’s ‘secret’ friend had agreed to meet with Wels and Xisuma had been making sure everything was ok.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sitting still, Xb allows Xisuma and Doc to look over the webbing, fins, and scales.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if mer scales are anything like dragon scales but you should or ask Max at some point,” Xisuma says as he carefully pokes the newly formed leg fins.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb smiles softly, “Yeah, he’s apparently already tried to tell me about that but Hypno and the other Magic dudes are the only ones who can understand him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Laughing softly Xisuma hugs Xb with his tail, “Ok you drink some more water you look a little dried out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rolling his eye Xb drinks some more water, “It’s probably because I’m normally in the water and since I’m out of it I need more than normal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small chittering laugh from near the ceiling draws everyone's attention, “Very good,” The vex laughs, “Now we have been allowed to tell out about this so listen closely. You will be able to choose which form you want to be in, but you must change your form every once in a while otherwise you could get hurt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the Vex explains how to shapeshift Xb smiles softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh and we probably should have mentioned this earlier, you will have conduit like effect in this form, letting others see and breathe underwater, but when swimming in this form you need to be careful. The size of your gills can’t filter the needed amount of oxygen. You can swim normally but for anything that involves a strenuous activity you should be in your merman form.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xb nods, “Thanks for the warning, the conduit thing sounds cool.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Vex fades into shadow and Xb attempts to turn back into the big merman form. The first attempt involves him growing to the proper size but then failing to go through with it. His next few attempts to go a tiny bit better. After a few hours of trial and error, he finally can successfully turn back and with ease. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s been a pretty long time since Xisuma had called a meeting about the meteor, but since Xb’s transformation was so aggressive it was decided that it would be beneficial to do it like this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the hermits gather near one of the shores of the shopping district Xb is laying in the water. He’s in his big form and just barely pokes his head out of the water. When Xisuma starts explaining he waves.</span>
</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope everyone had enjoyed reading, and please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you have enjoyed please leave a comment. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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